AZ Blue Best Life Classic (HMO): Hearing Services

Hearing services and products are covered when medically necessary to alleviate disability caused by the loss or impairment of hearing.  Routine hearing exams help to identify early hearing loss, gauge progressive hearing loss and track changes to make needed adjustments, identify balance problems associated with the inner ear, and address any modifiable factors that may contribute to hearing loss.    

Many people believe that they hear just fine, and perhaps they do.  Most do not know, however, that they have actually lost their ability to hear high frequencies, and some come to accept that muffled sound is normal.

Issues in the inner ear, which can be detected during routine screening, also cause balance problems.  Sometimes what we think is a musculoskeletal cause of imbalance (pain or weakness) may be an inner ear disorder.

Finally, modifiable factors that contribute to hearing loss, such as certain medications and environmental factors, can be addressed.

Older adults are also susceptible to excessive wax build-up and even ear infections.

Diagnostic hearing and balance evaluations performed by a provider to determine if medical treatment is needed are covered as outpatient care when completed by a physician, audiologist, or another qualified provider.

The plan covers several hearing care needs:

• 1 routine hearing exam every year

• Up to two TruHearing™-branded hearing aids every year (one per ear, per year). Hearing aid purchase includes:

  • First year of follow-up provider visits

  • 60-day trial period

  • 3-year extended warranty

  • 80 batteries per aid for non-rechargeable models

• Benefit does not include or cover any of the following:

  • Additional cost for optional hearing aid rechargeability

  • Ear molds

  • Hearing aid accessories

  • Additional provider visits

  • Additional batteries; batteries when a rechargeable hearing aid is purchased

  • Hearing aids that are not TruHearing™-branded hearing aids

  • Costs associated with loss and damage warranty claims